I think this might be the least talented WR room since Sherman's first season in 2008 where we had to move Tannehill to WR. This doesn't get brought up a ton but it should because the lack of explosive playmakers at wideout really hurt this team this year.

The two recruits (one high school and one portal) Auburn beat us out for last recruiting cycle are the type of dynamic talent we need to win this conference. Both guys (Coleman & Lambert-Smith) were over 100 yards against us and you could make the argument that they would have won us another game or two this year.

Our wide receivers coach has a reputation as a great recruiter but so far hasn't signed any elite prospects to the roster. WR recruiting needs to be a top priority this offseason or this offense will never be capable of winning the big games in this conference.

I disagree. We have a handful of "above-average" receivers. There is plenty of talent. Just because we don't have a Christian Kirk doesn't mean our guys aren't talented.

The problem is playcalling and execution. Noah Thomas consistently breaks free for potential big plays over the top, yet we rarely find him. This happened last night and was even highlighted by Herbie.

in modern college football...you need a Christian Kirk-equivalent

are any of the current WR's on the team going to get drafted in April?

MisterJones said:

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I disagree. We have a handful of "above-average" receivers. There is plenty of talent. Just because we don't have a Christian Kirk doesn't mean our guys aren't talented.

The problem is playcalling and execution. Noah Thomas consistently breaks free for potential big plays over the top, yet we rarely find him. This happened last night and was even highlighted by Herbie.

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You can't win this conference with a handful of "above average" at WR, that's my point. The top end talent is lacking big time and various broadcast teams have repeatedly stated during our games, "who does A&M have at WR that scares you?, who do they have that can win one on one on the outside?".

I'm not saying the QB play was good enough this season, it wasn't. Both Conner and Reed struggled at times but the offense has been one dimensional all season with Moss being our guy. Next season we need the passing offense to be a threat or it will be a repeat of this season.

We have decent WR but the QB doesn't always see them open. This is a huge issue wirh Reed and one of the reasons he isn't elite.

With that being said we do not have any great WR. Almost every team even bad ones have at least 1 stud.

I think we agree on a lot of these points.

I also think it's hard to gauge the talent of a WR room when you haven't given them the chance to really showcase what they're made of. Noah Thomas would be a WEAPON on a team like Bama or Tennessee that actually can complete a deep pass.

The announcers were pointing out receivers were wide open while slim shady was bailing out and rolling to his right every time.

Our WRs are so scary, we didn't have a single one on the field on the 4th and goal play. That says it all.

The only receiver I even know the name of is Noah Thomas. Everyone else has been completely invisible. Noah Thomas is a solid #2 talent level unfortunately. I think if we had receivers that were able to create separation our run game would have looked a lot different. We HAVE TO get a stud receiver this offseason.

Collin Kleins offense isnt exactly WR friendly. Our best bet is probably going to be the transfer portal

Name an SEC team on our schedule with a worse wr roster.

Above-average isn't going to cut it. We need elite players.

We've only had two since we joined the SEC

We actually have had great success recruiting WR's on paper. The problem is lately they have all been idiots or don't pan out. Evan Stewart, Demond Demas, the list goes on for years. Our current group doesn't seem to be as talented though. We have to find more trifecta elite talent guys like Kirk. Bussey seems to fit that mold

jdls13 said:

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We actually have had great success recruiting WR's on paper. The problem is lately they have all been idiots or don't pan out. Evan Stewart, Demond Demas, the list goes on for years. Our current group doesn't seem to be as talented though. We have to find more trifecta elite talent guys like Kirk. Bussey seems to fit that mold

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I am optimistic on Bussey, it's early in his career but he flashed last night. Besides him I'm not sure any of the other guys are NFL prospects currently. That's why the good teams we play can consistently shut down our run game because we are one dimensional. It cannot be this way next season.

And we aren't really winning them in recuiting battles so far (even whiffed in portal last yr missing on top 10 in the portal). Aware there's an outside shot to land one (and personally think Armstrong could be very helpful), but we need 3-4 for depth.

This site doesn't digest depth needed at all positions (even Sark called out our lack of DL depth -- means next yr is beyond problematic). But at WR, need solid 6 interchangeable unless we are going to veer or run GT's offense. We have maybe 2 (excl injury) and they would not be 1st string on any top team (we truly don't have WR to take the top off....Noah is ok, but not a real beat man coverage and get open fast enough WR).

W said:

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in modern college football...you need a Christian Kirk-equivalent

are any of the current WR's on the team going to get drafted in April?

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punt blockers.

We need a legit X from the portal. Noah is good and is an SEC caliber wide receiver, but I'd like to see him in the slot more as a big slot type rather than an outside guy. Get him matched up on linebackers and safeties and see what he can do over the middle.

Bussey isn't polished as a route runner yet. That's a hard craft to learn in a year. You have to remember he's coming from high school where he could've shown up 3 minutes to kickoff in street clothes and flip flops and been the best athlete on the field. He didn't have to learn the craft of route running and I doubt Timpson had a coach teaching them to the level he would've gotten at a bigger high school. No disrespect to timpson's coaches, but they probably don't have the resources to hire a dedicated WR coach who also isn't probably the DB coach, special teams coach, girls basketball coach, and teaches 6 class periods a day on top of it. That being said, give Terry time to learn and he'll be that guy, just so explosive.

I saw some really good catches last night.... When they were thrown to. Maybe they can't get open? What's more likely is that Reed constantly stares down one receiver and doesn't go through his progression.

You really only need sure-handed receivers, preferably big body types, in the KSU offense. Bill Snyder made hay for years with corn fed boys like that. Not many went on to great success in the NFL.

Why would anyone think replacing Stewart for players from Troy and La Tech wouldn't have an impact?

rsf0626 said:

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Collin Kleins offense isnt exactly WR friendly. Our best bet is probably going to be the transfer portal

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A coach can enter the portal? just joking. HOWEVER -- I'd like to hear some of the texags crew ask klein to answer a few questions directly. trying to guess what the brain trust had in mind on plays like that is frustrating and unproductive.

A&M finishes the regular season ranked #93 in passing yards per game in FBS

rsf0626 said:

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Collin Kleins offense isnt exactly WR friendly. Our best bet is probably going to be the transfer portal

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So receivers in the transfer portal want to come play for an offense that isn't receiver friendly?

Charlie Murphy said:

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Name an SEC team on our schedule with a worse wr roster.

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South Carolina.

I'm not convinced it's the quality of the WR's and not the play calling. If you look at stats and stuff like that, we probably have the worst receivers of any team we played this year….even teams like bowling green. It's way more than a talent issue.

To be fair, there were times in which WRs were wide open in the middle and deep. QB or coordinator or head coach was focused on the sideline throws.

aggiedaddie said:

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rsf0626 said:

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Collin Kleins offense isnt exactly WR friendly. Our best bet is probably going to be the transfer portal

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A coach can enter the portal? just joking. HOWEVER -- I'd like to hear some of the texags crew ask klein to answer a few questions directly. trying to guess what the brain trust had in mind on plays like that is frustrating and unproductive.

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I'm not convinced that those short yardage calls were Klein's…..and I'm not a Klein fan at all.

Ag_EE_88 said:

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I'm not convinced it's the quality of the WR's and not the play calling. If you look at stats and stuff like that, we probably have the worst receivers of any team we played this year….even teams like bowling green. It's way more than a talent issue.

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Play calling and WR talent are not mutually exclusive explanations. The NFL draft is the ultimate evaluator of college football talent, not sure any of our WRs are considered pro prospects. We need those types of players to compete in the SEC.